Anticoagulant Therapy

Finally Some Good News About Pradaxa

Dabigatran (Pradaxa) seems to get a lot of negative press in the US; the lawyers are circling! Here is a recent article from the European Medicine Agency reporting that Dabigatran post-market data show less bleeding fatalities than in the clinical trials.

Anticoagulant Therapy

Correlating ACT from the i-STAT and Hemochron

A message from Sue Allen at Baptist Hospital: George, a while back you posted aquestion to the masses about the correlation between the Abbott i-STAT ACT versus the ITC Hemochron 401 and the Hemochron Jr. and I was wondering if you ever received any responses and have any further information on the subject. We are currently doing the same conversion and […]

Anticoagulant Therapy

How Long Does HIT Ab Remain?

In the comments section of our

Anticoagulant Therapy

PTT Reagent Selection

For those who participated in our summer, 2011 questionnaire (designed by Precision BioLogic’s marketing analyst Mr. Ankush Randhawa) about the choice of PTT reagent relative to its application and sensitivity to lupus anticoagulant, the results now appear in Fritsma GA, Dembitzer FR, Randhawa A, Marques MB, Van Cott EM, Adcock-Funk D, Peerschke EI. Recommendations for appropriate […]

Anticoagulant Therapy

How to Remove IgG

This question was posted on Wednesday, May 23 on Pat Letendre’s Medlab list and is reposted here with Linda Stang’s permission: We have a patient with lymphoma and an IgG peak (we think). The antibodies are interfering (and I mean really interfering) in the coags: INR >5.0 but has had clinical challenges with no bleeding. Is there any way to remove […]

Anticoagulant Therapy

When is Pradaxa Preferred over Warfarin?

Here is a question from Farah Quresh in follow-up to a presentation on antithrombotics that George made May 24 during “Bioconference Live“: What are the conditions in which Pradaxa is preferred over warfarin? Thank you. Hello, and thank you for your question. This is a clinical judgment call that a physician may use based on economics, ability […]

Anticoagulant Therapy

Bioconference Presentation Handout: Monitoring New A/Cs

Yesterday, Thursday, May 24 I had the pleasure of presenting “Monitoring the New Anticoagulants; Whatever Happened to the PT and PTT?” for Bioconference Live. Registration for the conference is free, the presentations were recorded and are available through August, 2012. In a chat room after the conference I promised Warren Coffin, Crozer Chester Medical Center, Philadelphia, a […]

Anticoagulant Therapy

Rivaroxaban Setback

Yesterday, May 23, the FDA Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee failed to endorse the use of rivaroxaban (Xarelto, Bayer) for acute coronary syndrome. SeeTheHeart.org for details.

Anticoagulant Therapy

HIT Kits

From Ginger Weeden, MLS (ASCP)cm, Bio-Rad Laboratories: George, What heparin-induced thrombocytopenia with thrombosis (HIT) testing is available in the US? I’m wondering how many manufacturers there are. Thanks for any information. Hi, Ginger, and thanks for your question. All the C14 serotonin release assay methods (washed platelets) available from reference labs are laboratory-developed tests. Here are the manufacturers I […]

Anticoagulant Therapy

Who Uses the Hybrid Curve?

Most of us have maintained separate calibration (reference) curves for our chromogenic anti-Xa heparin assays, one each for standard unfractionated heparin (UFH) and low molecular weight heparin (LMWH, enoxaparin, Lovenox), and more recently, the synthetic pentasaccharide, fondaparinux (fonda, Arixtra). Frequent contributor (friend and colleague) Dave McGlasson (Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center) has published two articles on the […]

Anticoagulant Therapy

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George Fritsma is a medical laboratory scientist, educator, and author. George is a member of the International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis, the International Society for Laboratory Hematology, and the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science.

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